BOOM Urchin: A Bluetooth Speaker That's "Ready for Anything"

As you start making your adventure wishlist for 2013, audio brand BOOM are fueling the fire with a sneak peek of their newest product, the Urchin. BOOM is an audio line from the folks behind Polk Audio targeted at an active consumer who expects their products to keep up with their lifestyle. With the release of the Urchin, they've created a bluetooth speaker that falls in a category BOOM has identified as "R4A certified" or ready for anything. Their internal classification means it is IPX level 4 water resistant (5 minutes of direct spray with a hose), shock tested (50 drops at 10 feet) and dust sealed.

With a colorful removable silicone skin in 10 different hues, this little speaker is made to match any situation. The Urchin also ships with suction cub, custom designed carabiner and adhesive mounts in the box, so it really is R4A—beach sand, shower wall, back pack, or adhered to a dorm room window. The cuddly shape is defined by anti-sonic diffraction geometry producing clearer sound at louder levels than some boxier options on the market.

Above, the Urchin ships with a custom milled aluminum carabiner, suction cup mount and adhesive stamp.The BOOM brand itself has been around for the last couple of years making colorful headphones sold on 400 college campuses across the United States. It was the brainchild of ASU student Ryan Minarik, who felt there weren't any consumer electronics companies making fun audio that could withstand the kind of lifestyle of a normal college student. BOOM was bought by DEI Holdings in 2010, parent company of Polk Audio, who has 40 years of experience in making things sound great, and Definitive Technology, an extremely high end audiophile speaker brand, so these guys are backed up by some serious audio pedigree.

In 2011, BOOM started collaborating with San Francisco-based frog design to hone their brand position and develop a line of innovative products. Frog kicked off the program with a multi city ethnographic research tour, spending extended amounts of time with groups of college students to observe the kinds of abuse users would put product through. The result was a design system language that will resonate on an emotive level and that defined the "R4A" build methodology. The Urchin, in stores February, is just the first in several 2013 releases based on the collaboration.

The latest design news, jobs & events. Straight to you every other week.

Join over 300,000 designers who stay up-to-date with the Core77 newsletter...

Until Ideso's PowerPac goes into production, I'm on the lookout for a human-powered charging device, inefficiency be damned. Next time I'm caught unprepared in a blackout I'd like to be able to charge my phone and iPod Nano for the radio. Eton's BoostTurbine 2000, a hand-cranked generator/battery that charges via...

Text by Rachel Carvosso; photos by Junya HirokawaThrough a solid three years of experimentation and tinkering, Yusuke Hayashi and Yoko Yasunishi of Drill Design have arrived at "Paper-Wood" which is now sold as a material used by a range of different designers and companies to make everyday objects (furniture, stationary,...

Karim Rashid sez: "Human beings touch an average of 600 objects a day." I'm guessing that number drops, and becomes much more focused, during emergency situations. Here are the two things I touched most during the recent blackout.Surprise winner: The iPod Nano I never ordinarily use.The Nano's built-in radio tuner...

The problem with most audio speakers is that they're not designed to irritate your neighbors to their full potential. Sure, you could point your speakers directly at a window or shared wall, or place it against a floor-mounted cast-iron radiator to send the sounds of Shakira directly into the apartment...